List of American sportsperson-politicians

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This is a list of American sportsperson-politicians.

List[]

Person Athletic background Political background Party
Dave Albritton Track and Field: 1936 Olympic high jump medal winner Member of the Ohio House of Representatives, 1961–1972 Republican
Colin Allred Football: Played for the Tennessee Titans Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 32nd district, 2019–present Democratic
Dave Bing Basketball: Hall of Fame shooting guard at Syracuse University and three NBA teams, including the Detroit Pistons Mayor of Detroit 2009–2013 Democratic
Brandon Bochenski Ice hockey: Played wing for the University of North Dakota and several AHL and NHL teams Mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota, 2020–present Republican
Bill Bradley Basketball: Hall of Fame small forward at Princeton University, 1964 Olympic gold medal team, and the New York Knicks U.S. senator from New Jersey, 1979–97 Democratic
Fred H. Brown Baseball: outfielder for the Boston Beaneaters United States Attorney, Governor of New Hampshire, member of the United States Senate, Comptroller General of the United States Democratic
Jim Bunning Baseball: Hall of Fame pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Los Angeles Dodgers Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th district, 1987–99; U.S. Senator from Kentucky, 1999–2011 Republican
Ben Nighthorse Campbell Judo: Captain of the US team at the 1964 Summer Olympics Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 3rd district, 1987–93; U.S. Senator from Colorado, 1993–2005 Democratic (before 1995)
Republican (1995–present)
Sharice Davids Mixed Martial Arts: Fought professionally, 2013–2014 Member of the U.S. House Of Representatives from Kansas's 3rd congressional district, 2018–present Democratic
Terry Dehere Basketball: Seton Hall University, 1989–93; Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Vancouver Grizzlies, 1993–99 Jersey City Council, 2001–07; Jersey City Board of Education, 2007–present Independent
LaVern Dilweg Football: Green Bay Packers, 1927–1934 U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 8th district, 1943–1945 Democratic
Gerald Ford Football: center, linebacker, and long snapper for University of Michigan, 1932–1935, assistant varsity football coach for Yale University, 1935–1937, junior varsity head football coach for Yale University, 1938[1] Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 5th district, 1949–1973, Vice President of the United States of America, 1973–1974, President of the United States of America, 1974-1977 Republican
Anthony Gonzalez Football: Ohio State University, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 16th district, 2019–present Republican
Glenn Jacobs Professional wrestler on the independent circuit (1992–1995) and in WWE (1995–present), most notably as Kane. Also played football and basketball at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University). Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee (2018–present) Republican
Fob James Football: All-American halfback for Auburn University, 1952–1955 and Montreal Alouettes, 1956 Governor of Alabama, 1979–83 and 1995–99. Democratic (before 1970, 1978–1994)
Republican (1970–1978, 1994–present)
Kevin Johnson Basketball: University of California, Berkeley, 1983–1987; Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, 1987–2000 Mayor of Sacramento, 2008–16. Democratic
Walter Johnson Baseball: Hall of Fame pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1907–27 Montgomery County, Maryland commissioner, 1938; candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 6th district, 1940 Republican
Hayes Jones Running: Winner of 110m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Member of the Michigan State House of Representatives, 2006 Democratic
Jim Jordan Wrestling: Two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, 1985–1986, assistant wrestling coach for Ohio State University, 1987-1995 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2007–present Republican
Jack Kemp Football: Played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, 1962–69 Congressman from Western New York, 1971–89; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1989–1993; Republican nominee for vice president in 1996 Republican
Steve Largent Football: Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, 1976–89 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st district, 1995–2003; Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma, 2002 Republican
Don Lash Running: Set a world record for the two-mile run in 1936, competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics Member of the Indiana House of Representatives, 1973–1982 Republican
Bob Mathias Track and Field: Decathlon winner at the Summer Olympics in 1948 and 1952 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 18th district, 1967–75 Republican
Tom McMillen Basketball: Played for the University of Maryland and the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district, 1987–93 Democratic
Wayne Messam Football: wide receiver for Florida State University, and in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, 1997 Miramar City Commissioner, 2011–2015; Mayor of Miramar, Florida, 2015–present; candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Democratic
Ralph Metcalfe Running: Medalist at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district, 1971–78 Democratic
Jack Mildren Football: Quarterback at the University of Oklahoma and with the Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, 1991–95 Democratic
Wilmer Mizell Baseball: Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets, 1952–62 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 5th district, 1969–75 Republican
Markwayne Mullin Mixed Martial Arts: Fought professionally, 2006-2007 Member of the U.S. House Of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district, 2013–present Republican
Tom Osborne Head football coach for the University of Nebraska, 1973–97; University of Nebraska athletic director, 2007–2013 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd district, 2001–07 Republican
Burgess Owens Safety for the University of Miami (1970–72), New York Jets (1973–79), and Oakland Raiders (1980–82) Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 4th district, 2021–present Republican
Alan Page Football: Played for University of Notre Dame and the Minnesota Vikings Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1993–2015 Independent
Jon Runyan Sr. Football: Offensive tackle for University of Michigan, and in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans (1996–99), Philadelphia Eagles (2000–08), and San Diego Chargers (2009) Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 3rd district, 2011–15 Republican
Ed Rutkowski Wide receiver and later quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, 1963–68 Executive of Erie County, New York, 1979–87; deputy commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, 1995–2006 Republican
Jim Ryun Running: The last American to hold the world record in the mile run, competitor in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Summer Olympics, first high schooler to break the four-minute mile Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 2nd district, 1996–2007 Republican
Jim Schwantz Football: linebacker for Purdue University, and in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers Mayor of Palatine, Illinois 2009–present Nonpartisan
Pius Schwert Baseball: catcher for the Penn Quakers and New York Yankees Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 42nd congressional district, 1939–41 Democratic
Heath Shuler Football: Played for the University of Tennessee and the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th congressional district, 2007–13 Democratic
John K. Tener Baseball: Played for the Orioles in 1885, Chicago White Stockings from 1888 to 1889, and the Pittsburgh Burghers for the 1890 season. Member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 24th district. 25th Governor of Pennsylvania Republican
Tommy Tuberville Football: Played for Southern Arkansas University; assistant coach at Arkansas State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A&M University; head coach at the University of Mississippi, Auburn University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Cincinnati U.S. Senator from Alabama, 2021–present Republican
Mo Udall Basketball: Played for the University of Arizona, and later with the Denver Nuggets for one year Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 2nd district, 1961–1991 Democratic
Jesse Ventura Wrestling: American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation Governor of Minnesota, 1999–2003 Independence Party of Minnesota
J. C. Watts Football: Played for University of Oklahoma and the Ottawa Rough Riders Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 4th district, 1995–2003 Republican
Frank White Baseball: World Series champion who played for the Kansas City Royals for 18 years. Member of the Jackson County Legislature, 2014–2016; Jackson County Executive, 2016–present Democratic
Dwayne Woodruff Football: Cornerback with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1979–1990) Judge in the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 2005–present Independent

Other offices[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "At Yale, Ford doubled as coach, law student". 17 January 2007.
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